Seal ring and housing

ABSTRACT

A finger ring is provided having a face which is carved with any desired ornamental pattern so that the face can be used in the manner of a seal to impress the ornamental design of the carving into soft wax. A housing is provided for receiving and removably retaining therein the finger ring with the face of the finger ring flush with an outside surface of the housing wherein the housing, when assembled with the finger ring, can act as a desk seal.

United States Patent 1 Duneier Oct. 30, 1973 SEAL RING AND HOUSING 1,705,107 3/1926 Durkee 425/386 I Inventor: Kerwin e 2 C th y Rd 1,714,147 5/1929 Welsbarth 425/386 East Rockaway, N.Y. 11518 Primary Examiner-J. Spencer Overholser [22] F'led: 1971 Assistant ExaminerB. D, Tobor- 2 APPL 205 33 Attorney-Alex Friedman et a1.

[52] US. Cl. 425/386, 63/1, 425/385, [57] ABSTRACT A finger ring lS provided having a face which Is carved {g g g' g g f with any desired ornamental pattern so that the face 425/57 458 "gg' 'fi 6 can be used in the manner of a seal to impress the or- 3 i namental design of the carving into soft wax. A housing is provided for receiving and removably retaining therein the finger ring with the face of the finger ring [56] References Cited flush with an outside surface of the housing wherein UNITED STATES PATENTS the housing, when assembled with the finger ring, can

2,185,811 1/1940 l-leyman 63/1 R act as a desk seal. 1,393,263 10/1921 Clifton 425/386 1,611,840 12/1926 Ralston 425/386 6 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENIEUnmao ma 3 768,947

SHEET, 10F 2 INV TOR. KERWIN D EIER ATTORNEYS PATENIEDucI 30 197s SHEET 2 0F 2 ATTORNEYS SEAL RING AND HOUSING BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Seals have a long history dating from times when officials and nobility used a seal impressed in hot wax to Authenticate their signatures on documents. In ancient times seals generally took two forms- One form was the finger ring with the seal design carved in its face and the other form was a mass of metal having the design of the seal carved in a fiat face thereof with the mass being shaped so that'it could readily be gripped in one hand and used to impress the seal in the hot wax. This typeofseal usually remained on a table or desk and could be referred to as a desk seal.

Today, seals in hot wax have no official function but are often used on informal documents and envelopes to add a touch of elegence thereto in the manner of the the old world. Some college and organization rings are carved so that they can function to impress a seal in hot wax. The seals in use today most commonly take the form of a finger ring or of a small disc with a post used as a handle. Desk seals are less common but may also be found in use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Generally speaking, in accordance with the invention, the articles of the invention effectively create both a finger ring which can function as a sealing ring and a desk seal which constitutes the assemblage of the finger ring and a housing. In this manner, a single carved face or disc can be selectively used as a finger ring or as a desk seal and the housing for receiving the finger ring is constructed and arranged to receive the finger ring and accurately position the sealing surface thereof regardless of the finger size of the finger ring.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved seal ring and housing capable of functioning as a seal type finger ring and a desk seal.

Another object of the invention is to provide a housing for receiving and supporting a seal ring in a functional position.

A further object of the invention is to provide a housing for supporting a seal ring in functional position 'regardless of the finger size of the seal ring.

Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the specification.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a fuller understanding of the invention, reference is had to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the apparatus of the' FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a seal ring removed from the housing;

FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view taken along line 77 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 88 of FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT into the face 14 of disc 12 is a design of any desired configuration. Face 14 is shown as carrying initials I5 but it will be understood that any desired design can be cast carved or engraved into the face of the disc whereby the reverse of the design will be transferred into the hot wax when the disc is pressed into hot wax deposited on a surface. Often the design or initials 15 are reversed in the disc so as to appear normally when forming a design inthe'hot wax. Ring 11 is of a type known in the art.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 through 3, a housing 21 is provided with a head portion 22 adapted to rest on a flat surface, such as a desk, and a handle portion 23 which gives the entire housing an ornamental appearance and through which the housing can be gripped for impressing the seal in hot wax. The design of the housing and particularly the handle portion is not a part of the instant invention and thus a plain, yet-attractive housing has been depicted. The housing may be as ornamental or baroque as is desired.

Head portion 22 includes a planar face 24 into which is releasibly mounted seal ring 11 with the face 14 thereof coplanar with planar face 24.

'As best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, ring 11 is removably mounted within head portion 22 and cooperating engagement between the head portion and the ring securely holds the ring the finger proper position regardless of the ring size as determined by the finger encircling portion. In other words, thefinger encircling portion extends within the housing but is not used as a reference for location of the ring within the housing. I-Iead portion 22 consists of two cover members 25 and 26, each of which is pivoted to handle portion 23. Since the pivoting arrangement of each cover member is identical, one only will be described for the sake of simplicity.

Cover member 25 is provided with a pair of spaced ears 27 (FIG. 7) which'receive therebetween an enlarged end 28 (FIG.8) at the lower end of handle portion 23. A pin 29 passes through ears 27 and enlarged end 28 to define a hinge whereby cover member 25 is hinged to the lower end of handle portion 23.

Formed as part of ears 27 are rod receiving members 31 which support a transverse rod 32 about which a spring 33 is mounted. As best seen in FIGS. 4and 5, spring 33 is so arranged with respect to the convolutions of the coils thereof that one end thereof is received in a projection 34 on the inner wall of cover member 25 and the other end thereof rests against a rod 35 mounted in and extending across handle portion 23. The mounting of cover member 25 to handle portion 23, as. described, permits cover member 25 to be pivoted in aclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 4 to an open position, with the cover member being biased in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 4 by spring 33 to the closed position which is the position shown in FIG. 4.

The central portion of cover member 25 within planar face 24 is provided with a recess 41, the exterior walls of which generally conform to the rear and side walls of disc 12. The central portion of recess 41 is provided with an aperture 42 for receiving therethrough finger engaging portion 13. A corresponding recess and aperture is provided in cover member 24 whereby the seal ring is received within head portion 22 with finger engaging portion 13 wholly within the head portion and with the disc 12 clamped by the recess defined in the cover members to securely hold the seal ring in the housing with face 14 coplanar with face 24.

From the foregoing, it can be seen that the clamping of the seal ring by cover members 25 and 26 is independent of the finger engaging portion whereby the size of the finger engaging portion is of no moment. Any ring having a disc of a predetermined size will be received in and securely clamped by the housing.

To use the apparatus as a desk seal, the seal ring is mounted in the housing as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 and the springs bias the cover members into close engagement with the ring whereby the face of the ring is held in a position so that it may impress its design in hot wax. Note that the engagement of the rear face of disc 12 with the recesses in the cover members prevent the seal ring from further entering the housing. The aperture 42 in cover member 25 and the corresponding aperture in cover member 26 cause the recesses in the cover member to closely engage the joints between the finger engaging portion 13 and disc 12 as best seen in FIG. 5 to prevent the seal ring from moving outwardly with respect to the housing when the seal ring is clamped therein.

In order to remove the seal ring to use it as a finger ring, the cover members 25 and 26 are forced open against the spring biasing and the seal ring may be removed therefrom. When the seal ring is removed, it is merely necessary to spread the cover members to position the ring within the housing.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained and, since certain changes may be made in the above construction, with out departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description orshown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a seal ring having a disc portion and a finger engaging portion, said disc portion having a face for forming a design in soft wax, and'a housing, said housing having a head portion and a handle portion extending from said head portion, said head portion including recess means defining a recess for receiving therein said disc portion, chamber means for receiving therein said finger engaging portion, and retaining means including said recess means for releasibly retaining said seal ring in said head portion, said housing forming an operational holder for said seal ring by which a design may be formed in soft wax, said seal ring also being capable of forming a design in soft wax when removed from said housing.

2. The combination as claimed in claim 1 wherein said head portion includes a planar face coplanar with said face of said disc portion when said seal ring is retained in said head portion.

3. The combination as claimed in claim 1 wherein said head portion includes two cover members and pin means pivoting each of said cover members to said handle portion.

4. The combination as claimed in claim 3 wherein said retaining means includes spring means acting between said handle portion and said cover members, said cover members being pivotable between closed and opened positions, said spring means biasing said cover members to said closed position.

5. The combination as claimed in claim 4 wherein said recess means includes aperture defining means in said cover members for receiving therethrough said finger engaging portion of said seal ring.

6. The combination as claimed in claim 5 wherein said recess means closely conforms to the surface of said disc portion opposite the face thereof, said finger engaging portion being connected to said surface, said recess means and aperture defining means being constructed and arranged to grip said finger engaging portion at its connection to said surface when said cover members are biased to closed position.

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1. In combination, a seal ring having a disc portion and a finger engaging portion, said disc portion having a face for forming a design in soft wax, and a housing, said housing having a head portion and a handle portion extending from said head portion, said head portion including recess means defining a recess for receiving therein said disc portion, chamber means for receiving therein said finger engaging portion, and retaining means including said recess means for releasibly retaining said seal ring in said head portion, said housing forming an operational holder for said seal ring by which a design may be formed in soft wax, said seal ring also being capable of forming a design in soft wax when removed from said housing.
 2. The combination as claimed in claim 1 wherein said head portion includes a planar face coplanar with said face of said disc portion when said seal ring is retained in said head portion.
 3. The combination as claimed in claim 1 wherein said head portion includes two cover members and pin means pivoting each of said cover members to said handle portion.
 4. The combination as claimed in claim 3 wherein said retaining means includes spring means acting between said handle portion and said cover members, said cover members being pivotable between closed and opened positions, said spring means biasing said cover members to said closed position.
 5. The combination as claimed in claim 4 wherein said recess means includes aperture defining means in said cover members for receiving therethrough said finger engaging portion of said seal ring.
 6. The combination as claimed in claim 5 wherein said recess means closely conforms to the surface of said disc portion opposite the face thereof, said finger engaging portion being connected to said surface, said recess means and aperture defining means being constructed and arranged to grip said finger engaging portion at its connection to said surface when said cover members are bIased to closed position. 